Editorial: Water district, PUC should probe rising water bills

Yes, there is a simple explanation for many of the oversized water bills being experienced by Cal Am customers on the Peninsula. Even small leaks and toilet valves that don't properly close can send bills sky high now that our water rates are designed to encourage if not mandate conservation.

Use a normal amount of water and your water bill should be lower than your power bill. Use more because you overwater the roses or leave faucets running or because your pipes spring a leak and you'll get clobbered at the end of the billing cycle.

However, leaks and the tiered water rates can't be to blame for all the bills that have tripled and quintupled or worse in recent months. Since reporting on the exorbitant bills received by one Pacific Grove woman, The Herald has been inundated with tales of people who have watched their bills soar even though plumbers and Cal Am employees haven't been able to detect leaks or other issues on their properties.

Unfortunately, the rapidly escalating rate schedule that is meant to discourage water use could be providing Cal Am with a windfall, and it would seem to create a disincentive for the company to investigate thoroughly whenever bills suddenly jump. (It is also notable that the tiered or punitive system aimed at Cal Am customers does not put any corresponding pressure on the company to fix its own notoriously leaky pipes.)

Even if Cal Am is right and the tiered rates are simply working as intended by driving consumers to monitor their usage and quickly correct problems, it is time for the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District and the state Public Utilities Commission to wade into the issue. By law, each agency has regulatory power over Cal Am, though they don't always seem to be clear on the concept.

While there is no reason to suspect Cal Am of intentionally cheating anyone, it could be that some monthly bills are based on estimates or averages rather than actual meter readings. The water management district and the PUC should be able to determine if that is happening and see if some hefty bills could be the result of belated adjustments when the meters actually are read. If Cal Am is fudging with the numbers, auditors should be able to find that as well.

This is not meant to point a finger at the company's local technical staff, which has repeatedly demonstrated competence and public spiritedness. Unfortunately, the company's leadership and corporate policies have not always inspired as much confidence. Many of our readers say they have been exasperated by efforts to communicate with the enterprise through its Illinois call center only to be told by company representatives "it's your fault, not ours."

Cal Am is peddling a commodity that is really owned by the public. Because of its special status as a regulated monopoly, it can reasonably be expected to pay almost as much attention to its customers' concerns as it does to its own bottom line. The water management district and the PUC should step in and make that more clear.